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Using Fillers for Facial Paralysis Woes

Summary: There is much about the face that makes it beautiful, and there are many different types of beautiful faces. Indeed, our brains are wired to notice a significant amount of details in the faces of others. However, sometimes the face doesn’t behave as it should. And one of the most common ways that the face “misbehaves” is by doing something called facial paralysis. This paralysis can come about in any number of ways; sometimes through genetics and sometimes through trauma. In any case, there now seems to be an effective treatment for facial paralysis. According to new research, dermal fillers for facial paralysis might be the way to go.

Discovering Fillers for Facial Paralysis

As far back as Ancient Greece, beauty has been defined, at least in part, by symmetry. How closely one side of the face matches the other was considered by the Greeks to be among the most important aspects of classical beauty. Today, it’s still important, though perhaps more subtly. And, to be sure, we’ve learned to accept a much wider array of features as being beautiful (because they are). However, sometimes facial paralysis or partial facial paralysis can play havoc with our sense of personal beauty, not to mention some of our most basic facial functioning. In other words, facial paralysis is generally not seen to be a good thing. This is obvious.

What might not be quite so obvious is the fact that some cosmetic procedures can actually help with facial paralysis. Now, facial paralysis can develop for any number of reasons. It can be caused by a stroke, which cuts off blood supply to the brain. Or it can be caused by something called Bell’s Palsy, which is a temporary paralysis of the face (though it can last for months). Facial paralysis can also be caused by muscular dystrophy, birth defects, or other traumas. Patients who suffer from facial paralysis can find their speech impeded, their facial expressions muted, and their sense of beauty quite damaged.

Injectable Fillers Improve Mobility in the Lips

Luckily, there are treatment options, and one small study seems to suggest that new treatment options could soon include what most consider to be cosmetic procedures. It seems that when injectables containing hyaluronic acid are injected into the lips, it can improve mobility and control. Of course, this isn’t going to necessarily help patients who have lost mobility around the eye, for example. But for patients who have trouble eating, drinking, or even speaking, this regained control can be quite a welcome relief.

Of course, we do need to acknowledge that the study conducted was quite small. The results, researched by Kofi Boahene at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, was conducted on only 22 patients. When it comes to medical studies, this is relatively small. Still, the results are encouraging and will likely lead to more such studies in the very near future. That’s pretty encouraging for a finding that, intitially, was stumbled upon quite by accident when a cosmetic surgeon gave a patient who, unbeknownst to both patient and surgeon, suffered from muscular dystrophy. The dermal filler to the lips improved the patient’s speech and the idea for this study was born.

Many Uses for Cosmetic Procedures

This isn’t the first time that cosmetic procedures have been found to have a positive impact in an unexpected way. Botox, for example, has been found to help out in cases of migraines and depression. In the case of Botox for migraines, injections of the wrinkle treatment were found to lessen the impact of headaches—they weren’t as severe and they didn’t last as long. In the case of depression, Botox injections actually seemed to improve and stabilize the mood of the patient substantially. These discoveries about Botox made a huge impact on the way that this injection is used and who it is used on. And, of course, research continues.

Indeed, many cosmetic surgery clinics now offer Botox for migraines or Botox for depression. According to the website of the Minneapolis Botox experts at Carillon Clinic, it’s also important to note that Botox has excellent cosmetic uses. Indeed, Botox can help mitigate wrinkles.

It’s All Designed to Help You Smile Again

So, too, can dermal fillers. It may turn out, after all, that how we feel has something to do with how we look. Not directly, of course, but at least tangentially. If you feel like you look good, you’re more likely to get a positive emotional jolt out of that. There’s no telling how big an impact those endorphins have on your system. You could be doing yourself a huge favor simply by believing that you look great. And, of course, sometimes we need a little help to believe that. And that help can come in the form of cosmetic fillers or in the form of Botox.

Regardless, research continues. It’s not enough to know that Botox or Juvederm works, we’d like to know why so we can develop even more targeted and effective ways to treat these symptoms. But that research leads to even more novel approaches as well. We’re always learning, always moving forward, and always developing new treatments. That drive forward is important. It’s how we discover. And at the end of the day, it’s how cosmetic surgeons help their patients.